Features

For women, talking about personal things is a sign of closeness – "the pot of gold at the end of the relationship rainbow" – says linguist and author Deborah Tannen. Audio

Flies, spiders, mites, cicadas, fungi and tiny scales from butterfly wings have been found preserved in New Zealand amber. Audio

A record 273 choirs from our secondary schools are taking part in The Big Sing festival, and it's up to the adjudicators to ensure every choir has a fair chance of progressing through to the finals. Audio

From Wagner, a self-proclaimed aural dream prophet, to contemporary composer Aphex Twin, composers from different eras have lifted ideas and music straight out of their dreams.

Like most electronic musicians, Daniel Brandt uses sampled sounds, but his music sounds like it's been made in real time, with someone hitting or caressing things, and working up a sweat in the process. Audio

Hadleigh Pousi is part of the male dance troupe Freshmans which is performing in this month's Pacific Dance festival in Auckland with a new work called Nu'u. Audio

Brighter Future? - Overall immigration has grown, but the number of Pacific migrants allowed to call this country home has fallen significantly in recent years.

Dominic Hoey has a novel, a short film and a stage show coming out – all in the next two months. He also mentors young writers and teaches high school kids mindfulness.

The stereotype that Asians are wealthy could be part of why they are targeted by criminals in New Zealand, says Labour MP Raymond Huo. Audio

Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world. But the number of Pacific migrants being allowed to call this country home has fallen significantly in recent years.

We delve deep into the archives with tracks from Wynonie Harris, Blind Boy Fuller, Josh Rouse and Tennessee Ernie Ford. There's also a classic cut from Little Feat's Feats Don't Fail Me Now album. Audio

"Food is medicine and medicine is food" is the philosophy at Napier's Hapi Cafe. Hapi's Gretta Carney shares ideas for cooking with karengo, kūmara and kawakawa. Audio, Gallery

In our current age of internet celebrity (where full disclosure seems to be the default position) it's interesting to look back to the early years of Hollywood.   Audio

Tonga and Samoa are confident they will have plenty of support in the stands for Friday's 'Pasifika Challenge' rugby double header in Auckland against Wales and the All Blacks.

The world should prepare for more terrorist attacks similar to those in Manchester, London and Iran, especially during Ramadan, says an authority on terrorist groups. Audio

Big data could pick up the deterioration of a client before their therapist does, says psychologist Tony Rousmaniere. Audio

One minute of Al-Qaeda coverage in a US news bulletin causes one terrorist attack in the upcoming week, says a behavioural economist. Audio

This very funny and passionate man tells us about some of his favourite songs and has a laugh while doing it. Audio

Labelling toys as either for girls or for boys is not only "ridiculous, silly and out of date", it limits child development, says science writer Laurier Winkless. Video, Audio

Peter Hoar reviews last night's performances from the competition's three finalists: New Zealand's Benjamin Baker; the United States' Luke Hsu; and the winner, Romania's Ioana Cristina Goicea. Audio

New Zealand's refugee quota is about to increase - but has it got any easier to be a new New Zealander?

Books in te reo Māori are scoring big-time with a record number of finalists in this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. See the full list in The Children's Treasure Chest.

Everyone's had a go at assembling some flatpack furniture. Next on the menu – with no assembly required – are flatpack meals. Audio

We hear how Nick Gold's musical instincts led him to record some of the most iconic names in world music. Audio